New-Tech Europe Magazine | Q2 2023

outlined other possible human-LLM collaboration modes in their paper. For example, ‘collaborative exploration’ uses AI to augment researchers’ expertise by contributing wide ranging knowledge beyond their own fields. AI can also act as a ‘funnel’, helping to refine the design process and providing technical input, with humans retaining creative control. As there are logical and ethical risks associated with each collaboration mode, the researchers caution that the role of LLMs must be carefully evaluated going forward. For example, the use of LLMs raises questions of bias, plagiarism, and intellectual property, as it’s unclear if an LLM-generated design can be considered novel. “In our study, Chat-GPT identified tomatoes as the crop ‘most worth’

provide the “most probable” answer to prompts such as “what features should a robot harvester have?” Once a basic robotic format was identified (a motor-driven gripper for grasping ripe tomatoes), the researchers could then pose more specific questions, like “what shape should the gripper have?”, and ask the LLM to make technical suggestions including materials and computer code for controlling the device. “While computation has been largely used to assist engineers with technical implementation, for the first time, an AI system can ideate new systems, thus automating high-level cognitive tasks. This could involve a shift of human roles to more technical ones,” Stella says. In addition to assigning Chat-GPT the role of ‘inventor’, the researchers

pursuing for a robotic harvester. However, this may be biased towards crops that are more covered in literature, as opposed to those where there is truly a real need. When decisions are made outside the scope of knowledge of the engineer, this can lead to significant ethical, engineering, or factual errors.” Hughes says. Despite these cautions, Hughes and her team conclude, based on their experience, that LLMs have great potential to be a force for good, if well managed: “The robotics community must therefore identify how to leverage these powerful tools to accelerate the advancement of robots in an ethical, sustainable, and

socially empowering way.” Cover Image credit: EPFL

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